Tuberculous meningitis

Abstract

Tuberculous meningitis remains an illness with a substantial morbidity and mortality despite the introduction of effective antituberculous agents. The correct diagnosis is often initially unsuspected and, even when appropriately considered, may be difficult to unequivocally confirm. Since the advent of the AIDS era, the frequency of neurological disease due to mycobacterial infection has increased and the spectrum of the disease has changed. The effects of the AIDS epidemic, the role of computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, the value of newer laboratory techniques in establishing the diagnosis, and approaches to treatment are among the topics addressed in this review of tuberculous meningitis.